Mechanism for dereeling or unwinding wire from coils



Y' MECH F0 ELING 0R UNWINDING WIRE FROM COILS llad Ma 13 1956 ammlmh a; 2 sheets-Sheet l Ml Mmmm 1W y @f 5 f' f 5 i1/0 i It.. .......nln QI ff l www om M? w .,1. F. CULLIN www MECHANISM FOR DEREELING OR UNWINDING WIRE FROM COILS Filed May 15, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Nov. i4, 1939 MECHANISM FOR DEREEIJNG R .lUNWm- MNTG WIRE FROM @DELS .lasper 1F. Cullin, Detroit,

Mich., assigner, by

direct and mesne assignments, ci two-thirds to Lou Mervis, Ghicago, Ill.

Application May i3, lillips'erlal No. 79,4%

2 'Claima The invention relates to mechanism for dereeling or unwinding a continuous strip of material, such as wire, from coils for paying it out to winding or other machines,v

One object of the invention is to provide improved mechanism for unwinding and paying out wire from a coil at the rate at which the wire is taken up by machines such, for example, as coil winding machines. u

Another object of the invention is to provide improved dereeling mechanism in which the stretching or breaking of fine wire by the pull thereon due to the inertia of the large spooland coil, which occurs when the wire is pulled oi a rotatable coil, will be avoided. v

Another object of the invention is toV provide an improved dereeling mechanism in which it is unnecessary to place the Wire under tension to prevent its tangling when the take-up of the wire is stopped.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved dereeling mechanism which is adapted to unwind wire from a coil of wire, which is readily removable from a separable spool or reel so the spool or reel can be reloaded with a coil of wire without transporting the spools or dit reels to the place Where the wire is manufactured for reloading.

ln accomplishing these objects, the spool or reel is mounted against rotation and an annular driven unwinding element at one end of the spool is adapted for frictional engagement with a loop of wire from the coil so that when the wire in the loop is taken up by the machine to which it is fed, the friction between the rotating element and the wire, will unwind the Wire from the coil and,

when the take-up by coil-winding machine ceasesr the loop will be automatically freed from the rotating element to discontinue the unwinding of the wire from the spool; restraining devices are provided Whch prevent the wire from becoming loose around the coil when the pay-out is stopped; and

the unwinding element is detachably mounted at one end of the spool and the spool is formed of sections or parts between which the coil of wire can be stationarily conned and so that the spool may be reloaded with a coil of wire.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the detailed description.

The invention consists in the several novel features which are hereinafter set forth and are more particularly defined by claims at the conclusion hereof.

j In the drawings:

Fig. l. is a plan.

(Cl. 24E-iw) Fig. 2 is a side elevation oi a machine embodying the invention. Y

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section -through theA unwinding mechanism.

Fig. 4i is a section on line tl-li of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a detail on the latch for mounting the annular unwinding member on, and to rotate with, the drive shaft.

The invention is exemplied in mechanism which is mounted in a base t, which is adapted lil to be secured by bolts ill in any suitable place to supply Wire to a machine such, for example, asvwinding machines for magnet-helices, armature-coils, etc. One end of a sleeve l2 is iixedly secured in a standard Il on th base, the other E@ end being free to receive a spool or reel I3 which 'lts around the sleeve and is supported thereby.

A flange it is carried on and adjacent the free f end of the sleeve i2 and is adapted to be clamped by a nut I5 which is screw-threaded to the sleeve 2O against the spool to secure it against rotation on the sleeve. The spool is composedof a core or cylinder Ita which fits on sleeve I2 and sides I3b which are separately formed and adapted to be clamped together with the core betweenthem by 'the iiange It and nut i5 to ilxedly secure the spool on the non-rotatable sleeve I2. .A coil I6 of Wire, furnished to the userwith a paper liner ltd and suitable ties for keeping it intact, lits around the core It!a and between spool-sides |31. 30

When the nut I5, ange I4 and outer spoo1side Itv are removed from the sleeve I2, the coil I6 can be slipped endwise onto the core I3a. When the outer spool-side I3 is clamped in place by the nut I5 and flange It; the spool and coil will be 35 supported by, and concentrically around, the sleeve and secured against rotation.

The means for unwinding the wire from the coil I6 and paying it out`as required by the machine to which the wire is fed, comprises an an- 40 nular member I1, such as a disk or drum, which has a longitudinally curved periphery and is removably mounted on the free end of shaft I8 which projects beyond the end of sleeve I2. This annular element is driven from shaft I8 and, 45

while rotating, is adapted to be engaged by a loop of Wire Iiic from the coil I6 :when the free end of the wire is taken up at a suilicient rate of speed to cause the loop to contact with the periphery of element or disk Il. proper direction to unwind the wire from the coil and pay it oi' while the take-up of the wire is kept up at a suicient rate to keep the loop I6 in frictional contact with the disk I'l. When the This disk is driven in the pay-0E bythe disk is at a greater rate than 55 Ametal, is curved or turned inwardly, as at I1'fI to prevent the wire from catching on the disk. The outer portion of the disk is curvedinwardly to guide the wire to an eye 33. This formation ofthe disk causes it to form the loop I8'= be tween the coil and said eye, which is coaxial with the coil.

Shaft I8 extends axially through sleeve I2 and is journaled-in bearings I9 and 20 adjacent the ends of the sleeve. A pulley 2I is keyed to the inner end of shaft I8 and is driven by a belt 22 from a small pulley 23 on the shaft of an electric motor 25 which is fixed to the supporting base 9 and standard I I. This motorand gearing are adapted to drive shaft I8 so f'that the disk I1, while the wire is frictionally held against the disk or drum, will unwind the wire from the coil Ii at, or slightly greater than, the maximum takeup of the winding mechanism.` During the )peration of the winding mechanism which takes up v the wire from the reel, the motor 24 and the disk I1 will be constantly driven.

The wire from loop I6c passes through eye 33' and is formed in a bracket 34 to the winding machine. A grooved roller 35 Liournaled in a bracket 38 guides the wire to the winding machine. Brackets 34 and 36 are xedly secured to an upwardly inclined arm 31 of a bracket 38 which is pivoted at 39 to the base 9. The winding machine will take up the wire from the loop I8 through eye 33. This take-up will cause the loop of wire IISc to be drawn against the periphery of the constantly rotating disk I1. The contacting point between the disk and the loop I6 will rotate around lthe spool and unwind the wire from the coil and pay it out to the winding machine.

Whenthe take-up is insufficient to shorten the loop I6c into frictlonal contact with the disk I1, the loop will be free from the disk and the unwinding of the wire from the coil will stop.

The disk I1 is permanently secured to a hub or flange 28 which fits around shaft I 8. 'I'he hub and disk I1 are removable endwise from the outer end of shaft I8 and are held thereon by a latch .21 which is pivoted at 28 and provided with a slot 29 for engaging fiat grooves 30 in the periphery and adjacent the outer end of shaft I8, sothat when the latch is in its operative position, the shaft will drive the disk. A spring-detent 3I confined in a screw 32 in hub 26 engages the latch 21 to secure it against movement on its pivot 28 during the rotationof the disk and shaft I8..

When the latch 21 is swung so that it will be disengaged from the notches 30 and shaft, the disk, with its hub 26, will be removable endwise from shaft I8 to provide access to nut I5, flange I 4 and the spool foi' reloading the latter with a coil of wire.'

Bracket 38 and arm 31 are pivotally mounted on the base 9 to permit the roller 35 and eye 33 to be swung inwardly to one side, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2, to provide clearance for the removal of the disk I1 and reloading of the spool. vA plate 40 fixed to base 9 and a thumb-screw 4I', are provided to lock the base 38 and -arm 31 into y position to hold the eye 33 coaxial with the spool.

A pair of restraining strips'42 extend obliquely across the opposite sides of the spool and coil of wire and are supported at one end by rods 43,

` which are nxedly secured 1h upright u. Their sult of less wire being taken up than is paid out,

the wire between the coil and the disk will be restrained from unwinding by one or the other of the strips 42 so that whenever the pay-off stops,

Vthe convolutions of the wire on the coil will not be unwound and the wire will not become tangled. When the wire between disk I1 and the coil, during therotation of the disk, encounters either of the strips 42, the latter will fiex inthe direction of rotation of the disk and permit the wire at the inner end of the loop I8c to pass the strips.

In the operation of the machine, no load which requires the wire to rotate the coil or spool, is imposed on the wire and the power for unwinding the wire from the coil and paying it out is provided by the disk and its frictional contact With the wire. Asa result, very ne wire can be unwound without subjecting it to elongation. 'I'he stretchingor breaking of the fine wire caused by the pull on the wire due to the inertia and necessity of rapidly starting the heavy spool and coil of wire incident to devices in which the coil is rotated by the take-up of the wire', is avoided.' When rectangular coils are being de'reeled by the machine, stretching or breaking caused by intermittent or variations in pull to unwind wire, is avoided. T'he spool is left stationary and the pay-off is automatically varied according to the take-up of the winding or other machine. The spool can be readily reloaded and the single spool serves. for holding packaged coils o f wire. Tangling of the loose convolutions of the coil or the paid-of! loop, when the take-up is discontinued, is prevented by the restraining strips.A The mechanism is efficient in use and can be economically operated in connection with coil-winding and other machines. While the invention is particularly fadvantageous in dereeling wire, it will be understood that it may be used for other material.

The invention is not to be understood as restricted to the details slet forth, since these may be modified within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1.In unwinding mechanism, the combination of means for holding a spool containing a coil of wire, an annular driven rotatable member at one end of 'the spool for unwinding the wire from the coil and coaxial with the spool and having nating inwardly of the periphery of and spaced longitudinally from said member, to permit the loop of wire aroun'd the member to rotate through the spacev between the member and the free end of the strip, and to restrain said loop when it becomes disengaged from the member. 2. In unwinding mechanism, the combination u" andere v ol means for holding a spool containing a coil of wire, an annular driven rotatable member at one end of the spool for unwinding the wire from the coil and coaxial with the spool and having a periphery adapted to contact and rotate with a loop of wire from the coil according to the takeup of the wire and to automatically discontinue the pay-oil of the wire when it becomes loose, means for guiding the wire from the coil to form a loop around. said member, and a Wire-restraining strip extending lengthwise of the periphery w it of the coil, having one ol its ends xedly sup- Iported and its other end free and terminating inwardly of the periphery of and spaced longitudinally from said member, to permit the loop of wire around the member to rotate through the space between the member and the free end of the strip, and to restrain said loop when it becomes disengaged from the member, the strip being exible so its free end can be circumferentially deflected by said loop when it is taut.

JASPER F. CUILIN. 

